Ultimate Rust Proofing Ideas...

[496 BB]

Like the title states what would be your ideas as far as ultimate protection goes for a plowing truck. I am starting this project once it gets warmer out but am compiling info as I go now. My ideas and build are as follows....

Galvanize frame with paint finish
Some other rust proofing on rest of suspension (no powdercoat more than likely)
6" suspension lift and current 3" body lift with shackles and springs out back with bags
Underbody rhino lined or something else (chime in plz)
Bumpers (inside) lined with something as well
Rockers (inside) rust proofed at Ziebart or something (ideas?)
Bc/Cc paint

Truck is in good shape now with very very little surface rust. Rockers are the worst with only paint bubbling. I plow snow obviously and bought this truck 4 or so years ago. Its made me some cash and now its time to return the favor. I had a 79 back in the day and always said if I got another square I wont be the guy to let it go to hell. Well Im going down that path so its getting the ultimate treatment. I want it around for my son who is only 2.5 now so you get the point. Im a perfectionist so it will and has to be dead mint. It may take a year but oh well. I will be doing everything myself where its possible.

So what are some ideas you guys have about under body and helping paint clear? Does adding more coats of clear help? Obviously I will be washing it off after every storm but when its -20* thats a lost cause sometimes. Ill admit Ive been lazy with cleaning this past year and half so got noone to blame except me. Next time around I wont be though.

[rich weyand]

For voids (rockers, cab corners, tailgate) use ACF-50, an aviation product they use to protect against oxidation in airframes. It creeps all over the place and makes an oxide proof layer. Lasts for one year per application. You can get it at www.skygeek.com.

[gasmn1620]

maybe get a different truck and don't plow with that one?

[71swb4x4]

Originally Posted by gasmn1620

maybe get a different truck and don't plow with that one?

Exactly what I came in here to post. That's the "ultimate" rust proofing idea.

[496 BB]

Originally Posted by gasmn1620

maybe get a different truck and don't plow with that one?

Originally Posted by 71swb4x4

Exactly what I came in here to post. That's the "ultimate" rust proofing idea.

Exactly what I was after

I know nothing is 100% guarantee but anything is better than just plain old oem stuff or painted underside. But thanks for the input. Real help

[Koffer]

This stuff http://www.fluid-film.com works very well , it's a messy but worth it and since you do it yourself , you can be apply extra to all known trouble spots .
Buy it by the 5 gal pail and use a spay wand

[gasmn1620]

Not trying to be a jerk, but that environment is tough on metal. I lived in Milwaukee for 4 years and every ride I had ended up with rust starting. Most old trucks had the sides dang near eaten out. These things weren't engineered to stand up to rust.

[496 BB]

Originally Posted by Koffer

This stuff http://www.fluid-film.com works very well , it's a messy but worth it and since you do it yourself , you can be apply extra to all known trouble spots .
Buy it by the 5 gal pail and use a spay wand

Yea that is some awesome stuff. I used to use it on my plow blade. Seems it didnt last a whole season though. Just wanted a more permanent idea.

Originally Posted by gasmn1620

Not trying to be a jerk, but that environment is tough on metal. I lived in Milwaukee for 4 years and every ride I had ended up with rust starting. Most old trucks had the sides dang near eaten out. These things weren't engineered to stand up to rust.

I realize this but there has to be some good ideas out there. What does everyone think about Line X the bottom? It would have to be in every nook and cranny. Ive heard stories about moisture getting trapped under it but not sure how that would happen if it was properly sealed first with an epoxy sealer or whatever.

I would be doing this in sections not as a whole. Such as the truck fenders off, cab off, bed off, ect.. That way it seems you get a better coating everywhere.

I want something that just sprays off and recoating is not needed for several years if at all.

[68post]

Steel garage doors typically have a lifetime warranty (99% of metal doors are steel - NOT aluminum), and they are galvanized then painted with an epoxy primer and painted with a polyester enamel paint.

There used to be one brand on the market that came primed only ( still galvanized too) , and it was warrantied "for as long as you own your home", ( which could legally be longer than a lifetime warranty ! ), regardless if it ever got painted.

If there is a better way it would show up in this industry, and No - plastic or composite doors are not better.

I don't know how good the spray-can galvanized coating is but the above works very well against weathering - not great against SALT tho' !

[ray_mcavoy]

In my experience, the most difficult areas to rustproof are places where 2 or more layers of metal overlap and are spot welded together. This includes pinch weld seams, areas where cab floor supports are welded to the bottom of the floor pan, areas where cross sills are welded to the under side of the bed floor, and so on.

Road de-icing salts/chemicals wick their way in between the layers of metal in between the spot welds. Normal washing doesn't rinse them out of there so they sit and do their nasty work.

Primer, paint, undercoating, and bed liner type products typically won't get in between the tightly fitting layers. Most modern vehicle bodies use galvanized steel and are dipped in electro-deposit primer that does get into those gaps and provides decent rust protection. But even those coatings eventually fail after several years of exposure to de-icing salts.

Products like the ACF-50 and Fluid-Film that have already been mentioned do a good job of rustproofing overlapping metal because they wick/creep in between the layers and block water & salt from entering. The downside is that they need to be re-applied on a regular basis to maintain protection.

[donut]

I agree with ray, and others who chimed in and said park it.

Bottom line, the manufacturers have been trying for years to rustproof their stuff. At least until the warranty period is up (or it's paid for). There is no magic bullet. Keep up with maintaining whatever you use for a coating, park it and pay someone else to plow, use it like a tool and replace when broke.

The bed was rotted of my '73 10 years before I got it. Cab sheetmetal was gone below the window. Roof had a hole that could swish a basketball.
Want to see something worse? Go to the junkyard and look for the Zeibart or Rusty Jones sticker in the window...

[russgt]

If you choose the bedliner route, I have had pretty good luck with Raptor liner. It sprays nice and seems to hold up well.

http://www.amazon.com/U-POL-0820V-GUN-Black-URETHA...

[496 BB]

Originally Posted by russgt

If you choose the bedliner route, I have had pretty good luck with Raptor liner. It sprays nice and seems to hold up well.

http://www.amazon.com/U-POL-0820V-GU...s=raptor+liner

Been researching this for an hour now. Seems legit. Tell me more such as how do you tint it? Any color tint or just premade tints by company? How are you achieving smoother finishes opposed to rougher finishes? I assume psi and distance but which way?

Thanks for the suggestion. I was opposed to the herculiner, duplicolor liner, and such just because Ive heard they are junk and have used the spray can duplicolor for go karts and they dont seem well made. I also like the idea of doing it all myself as I can do all my suspension and underbody knowing I did it the best way possible. Prep will take forever though.

[SilverMiner]

Originally Posted by 496 BB

Exactly what I was after

I know nothing is 100% guarantee but anything is better than just plain old oem stuff or painted underside. But thanks for the input. Real help

496 BB - Thanks for making your original post. It is something I've been looking for an answer to since I joined this board, but there doesn't appear to be any simple solutions.

Perhaps the better way to pose the problem would be to look for the longest term rust PREVENTATIVE measure, rather than a permanent rust proofing which doesn't appear to exist. Just in the history of our trucks from 1973 to 1980 GM managed to improve the situation dramatically. Very few original fenders exist from 73 to 75 without dramatic rust in certain regions, but by 79 or 80 things seem to have gotten better. Not sure exactly why, but there is ample evidence that GM went to a lot of effort to fix the rust problem over the production span of our rigs. I'm confident that dedicated owners such as me and you could apply our efforts, time, and money to extend the viable lifetime of even reproduction fenders by a decade or two. And that might be plenty, or at least it would be for me.

As long as I have the fender off the vehicle sitting in my shop in a position where it is more easily accessed, I figure I might as well do whatever I could to preserve things for as long as possible. As with any engineering solution, it will have to balanced against personal feasibility, but our parameters are not as constrained as GM's was back when they were trying to make a buck.

So it makes sense to explore all the possibilities that exist within our capabilities. If we are lucky, perhaps somebody will identify a magic goop that we can readily apply to the areas of our trucks that are at risk. And then maybe somebody else can suggest a cleaning regimen that will further delay the inevitable, and between those two we could confidently invest time and effort into saving these rigs for another 40 years while still enjoying them year-round.

I hope I never live to see the day when the only time a square-body sighting occurs in January is because a negligent or ignorant owner is operating it. I'd much prefer to see a sweet HD 4x4 3/4 ton with a plow on it in a local parking lot performing the duties it was designed for.

[donut]

IMO, you must keep up with the maintenance. Including washing, oiling, and attacking the rust when it shows.
If these things didn't rust so quick, there wouldn't be such a strong aftermarket support for patch panels. GM had to do something with the sheetmetal, trucks were rusting out and not passing state inspections before they were paid for. (also imo, when the sheetmetal got better, frames got worse.)

I actually tried epoxy primer on inner panels, it actually was holding up pretty well on the inner fenders.

[68post]

Epoxy primer is a very hard finish.

[crashz]

I've plowed snow for many years, and agree with what's been said. Trucks will last but it takes a few weekend a year to wash out the salt and sand (not a simple car wash), prep, paint, and oil (I like FF too). I do this to my trucks twice per year and it helps to keep the new trucks rust free.

The 87 was a city salt truck and is significantly damaged from the salt. I have an uphill battle with this truck.

A dedicated plow truck is the way to keep your good trucks alive longer.

[Super_Dave]

Fluid Film... or use your neighbors truck...

[496 BB]

This IS my dedicated plow truck. Ive got 5 other daily drivers all newer. I wanted this truck because it has nuts unlike newer trucks mainly the front axle. They are simple as well. Thats what I wanted. Im not trying to reinvent the wheel. Just trying to prolong rust as long as I can. Want my son to be able to drive this in 14 years when hes old enough. As well as my daughter if she pleases in 16 years. This truck sits outside all year. It doesnt get driven much until winter and thats not a good thing for any vehicle. BUT things will change. I will get this thing tight one way or another. Ive got some pretty decent ideas now thanks to you guys bouncing ideas around.

Wont be starting this build until spring but stick around and if anyone cares I'll do a build thread.

[donut]

Your dedicated plow truck, are you just doing your driveway or commercially? Big difference really. I used to do just my and my neighbors drive, not much damage really.
However, buddy of mine used to do 175+ customers. Wasn't unusual to see 3 or 4 trannys lined up on the garage floor for his 2 K-20's. He got a K-30 dually, weight of the plow and sander eventually broke the frame.
Sold/scrapped the squares and bought newer trucks.

[russgt]

Originally Posted by 496 BB

Been researching this for an hour now. Seems legit. Tell me more such as how do you tint it? Any color tint or just premade tints by company? How are you achieving smoother finishes opposed to rougher finishes? I assume psi and distance but which way?

Thanks for the suggestion. I was opposed to the herculiner, duplicolor liner, and such just because Ive heard they are junk and have used the spray can duplicolor for go karts and they dont seem well made. I also like the idea of doing it all myself as I can do all my suspension and underbody knowing I did it the best way possible. Prep will take forever though.

So far, I have only sprayed the type that I linked, set at 50 psi. Make sure you buy the kit that comes with the gun. It comes black and has quite a bit of texture. I know that the tintable types only require adding some paint to get the desired color. I am going to be using the tintable (white) when I spray the inside of my K5 top and can let you know how it works out.